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Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 168, NO. 6 | Monday August 31, 2009
InDEX
4 · Opinion
5 · Lifestyle
8 · Classifieds
10 · Crossword
11 · Sudoku
12 · Sports
Let go: Electropop artist
Imogen Heap’s latest album is
a hit. PAGE 5
Cracked collar: Ronald Johnson’s
broken clavicle will sideline him for
six to eight weeks. PAGE 12
Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan
Ablaze · A firefighter looks out over the Station fire, which has been raging through northeast Los Angeles since Wednesday.
The fire has burned more than 35,000 acres, threatening 10,000 homes in towns near Los Angeles and forcing evacuations.
By Jean guerrero
Daily Trojan
While universities nationwide ad-mitted
fewer international graduate
students than last year, USC bucked
the trend by significantly increasing
it’s international graduate admis-sions
rate.
On average, US graduate schools
saw a 3 percent decrease in interna-tional
student admissions — the first
decrease since 2004, according to a
Council of Graduate Schools report
released this month.
Meanwhile, USC, which has the
largest international graduate stu-dent
population of any school in the
country, saw a 13.7 percent spike
in their admissions of internation-al
graduate students. The univer-sity
currently enrolls graduate stu-dents
from 114 different countries
and international students account
for more than a quarter of all grad-uate
students at USC, according
to the USC International Student
Enrollment Report for 2008-2009.
According to CGS, the nation-wide
drop in international gradu-ate
student admissions comes at a
time when application rates are not
growing as quickly as they were pri-or
to 2005.
One reason for the slowing growth
may be the tough global economy,
said Stuart Heiser, manager of gov-ernment
relations and external af-fairs
for CGS. Heiser said some in-ternational
students may be finding
it difficult to afford undergraduate
education in their home countries,
so graduate education is no longer an
option for them.
The largest drop in admissions to
US graduate schools — 16 percent —
occurred in students from India and
South Korea, where finding loans has
become increasingly difficult for pro-spective
students, Heiser said.
Some countries, however, were
immune to the drop. Graduate ap-plications
from China, for example,
were up 14 percent from last year and
admissions rates went up 13 percent.
Chansuk Jung, a first-year
USC sees jump in int‘l graduate admissions
Nationwide trend sees fewer
international admissions to
American graduate schools.
| see admits, page 3 |
By Kate mason
Daily Trojan
Students are taking preventa-tive
measures in light of the recent
armed robbery that occurred at an
off-campus apartment Thursday,
but Los Angeles Police Department
officials say there is no real need
for concern.
Though many students liv-ing
in the area of 29th Street —
where Thursday’s robbery oc-curred
— said they still feel the
neighborhood is safe, many add-ed
that they are taking additional
safety measures.
Chris Farro, who lives in the
building where the robbery oc-curred,
said that his landlord in-stalled
bars on all the windows in
the complex Saturday.
“I don’t think they’re going to
come back or anything, but we’ve
been a lot better about locking our
own rooms,” said Farro, a junior
majoring in business administra-tion.
“I also just got renter’s insur-ance.”
Other students are taking
similar precautions.
Michael Scott, a junior majoring
in computer engineering who lives
on 29th between Orchard Avenue
and Hoover Street, said he thinks
the neighborhood is safe because
it is regularly patrolled by USC’s
Department of Public Safety. Scott
added, however, that he plans to
take extra safety measures.
Scott said before the robbery he
had casually asked his landlord to
put bars on the windows, but now
he intends to make sure it happens.
“It has made me want to push
my landlord to put bars on sooner,”
Scott said.
Megan Dickey, who lives on 29th
and Hoover, said she is locking her
bedroom door at night as an extra
security measure.
“When we heard about [the rob-bery],
one of my other roommates
said we need to make sure that our
doors are locked at all times,” said
Dickey, a junior majoring in broad-cast
journalism.
Though LAPD officials said they
are encouraging students to take
these precautions, they believe
Thursday’s robbery was an isolat-ed
incident.
Because they think the robbery
In wake of robbery, LAPD
urges caution, not concern
Students say they are taking
safety precautions, including
locking doors and windows.
| see robbery, page 3 |
By MIMI HOneyCUTT
Daily Trojan
The wildfires razing northeast Los Angeles — faintly
visible from campus rooftops and balconies — continue
to spread, forcing mandatory evacuations and threat-ening
the homes and families of some USC students.
Firefighters battling three-digit temperatures, 80-
foot flames and more than 35,000 acres of fire had only
contained 5 percent of the blaze by 4 p.m. Sunday, ac-cording
to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
As of Sunday evening, LAFD officials had recom-mended
evacuation in the cities of Altadena, Acton, La
Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge and parts of Glendale,
and access to Highway 14 has been restricted in mul-tiple
parts of the area, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s
Department said.
The Station fire, which has been burning since Aug.
26, is not expected to be under control until Sept. 8 at
the earliest, according to LAFD estimates.
Although the fire has stayed 20 miles northeast of
campus, USC students with homes and families in the
evacuation areas are concerned about the potential
effects of the fires.
Nicolas Moura, a junior majoring in trombone per-formance,
said his family has loaded cars in case of
evacuation. From his home in the mountains of La
Cañada, Moura said the sound of the firefighters bat-tling
the blaze was “like a warzone.”
“From my house we have a pretty good view of the
fires,” Moura said. “I’ve never experienced fires this
bad.”
Moura first heard about the fire when he was go-ing
home to celebrate his parents’ 30th wedding
anniversary.
Fires threaten
Los Angeles
communities
Los Angeles Fire Department says Station fire
will be contained by Sept. 8 at the earliest.
| see fire, page 3 |
Percentage Change in International
Students Admitted
3%
-4%
14%
23%
7%
1%
3%
5%
-3%
14%
’04-’05
’05-’06
’06-’07
’07-’08
’08-’09
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
-5%
=
=
USC
National
Average
Year
Percentage Change
Source: USC Office of Admissions, Council of Graduate Studies
Leon Russo | Daily Trojan

Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 168, NO. 6 | Monday August 31, 2009
InDEX
4 · Opinion
5 · Lifestyle
8 · Classifieds
10 · Crossword
11 · Sudoku
12 · Sports
Let go: Electropop artist
Imogen Heap’s latest album is
a hit. PAGE 5
Cracked collar: Ronald Johnson’s
broken clavicle will sideline him for
six to eight weeks. PAGE 12
Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan
Ablaze · A firefighter looks out over the Station fire, which has been raging through northeast Los Angeles since Wednesday.
The fire has burned more than 35,000 acres, threatening 10,000 homes in towns near Los Angeles and forcing evacuations.
By Jean guerrero
Daily Trojan
While universities nationwide ad-mitted
fewer international graduate
students than last year, USC bucked
the trend by significantly increasing
it’s international graduate admis-sions
rate.
On average, US graduate schools
saw a 3 percent decrease in interna-tional
student admissions — the first
decrease since 2004, according to a
Council of Graduate Schools report
released this month.
Meanwhile, USC, which has the
largest international graduate stu-dent
population of any school in the
country, saw a 13.7 percent spike
in their admissions of internation-al
graduate students. The univer-sity
currently enrolls graduate stu-dents
from 114 different countries
and international students account
for more than a quarter of all grad-uate
students at USC, according
to the USC International Student
Enrollment Report for 2008-2009.
According to CGS, the nation-wide
drop in international gradu-ate
student admissions comes at a
time when application rates are not
growing as quickly as they were pri-or
to 2005.
One reason for the slowing growth
may be the tough global economy,
said Stuart Heiser, manager of gov-ernment
relations and external af-fairs
for CGS. Heiser said some in-ternational
students may be finding
it difficult to afford undergraduate
education in their home countries,
so graduate education is no longer an
option for them.
The largest drop in admissions to
US graduate schools — 16 percent —
occurred in students from India and
South Korea, where finding loans has
become increasingly difficult for pro-spective
students, Heiser said.
Some countries, however, were
immune to the drop. Graduate ap-plications
from China, for example,
were up 14 percent from last year and
admissions rates went up 13 percent.
Chansuk Jung, a first-year
USC sees jump in int‘l graduate admissions
Nationwide trend sees fewer
international admissions to
American graduate schools.
| see admits, page 3 |
By Kate mason
Daily Trojan
Students are taking preventa-tive
measures in light of the recent
armed robbery that occurred at an
off-campus apartment Thursday,
but Los Angeles Police Department
officials say there is no real need
for concern.
Though many students liv-ing
in the area of 29th Street —
where Thursday’s robbery oc-curred
— said they still feel the
neighborhood is safe, many add-ed
that they are taking additional
safety measures.
Chris Farro, who lives in the
building where the robbery oc-curred,
said that his landlord in-stalled
bars on all the windows in
the complex Saturday.
“I don’t think they’re going to
come back or anything, but we’ve
been a lot better about locking our
own rooms,” said Farro, a junior
majoring in business administra-tion.
“I also just got renter’s insur-ance.”
Other students are taking
similar precautions.
Michael Scott, a junior majoring
in computer engineering who lives
on 29th between Orchard Avenue
and Hoover Street, said he thinks
the neighborhood is safe because
it is regularly patrolled by USC’s
Department of Public Safety. Scott
added, however, that he plans to
take extra safety measures.
Scott said before the robbery he
had casually asked his landlord to
put bars on the windows, but now
he intends to make sure it happens.
“It has made me want to push
my landlord to put bars on sooner,”
Scott said.
Megan Dickey, who lives on 29th
and Hoover, said she is locking her
bedroom door at night as an extra
security measure.
“When we heard about [the rob-bery],
one of my other roommates
said we need to make sure that our
doors are locked at all times,” said
Dickey, a junior majoring in broad-cast
journalism.
Though LAPD officials said they
are encouraging students to take
these precautions, they believe
Thursday’s robbery was an isolat-ed
incident.
Because they think the robbery
In wake of robbery, LAPD
urges caution, not concern
Students say they are taking
safety precautions, including
locking doors and windows.
| see robbery, page 3 |
By MIMI HOneyCUTT
Daily Trojan
The wildfires razing northeast Los Angeles — faintly
visible from campus rooftops and balconies — continue
to spread, forcing mandatory evacuations and threat-ening
the homes and families of some USC students.
Firefighters battling three-digit temperatures, 80-
foot flames and more than 35,000 acres of fire had only
contained 5 percent of the blaze by 4 p.m. Sunday, ac-cording
to the Los Angeles Fire Department.
As of Sunday evening, LAFD officials had recom-mended
evacuation in the cities of Altadena, Acton, La
Crescenta, La Cañada Flintridge and parts of Glendale,
and access to Highway 14 has been restricted in mul-tiple
parts of the area, the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’s
Department said.
The Station fire, which has been burning since Aug.
26, is not expected to be under control until Sept. 8 at
the earliest, according to LAFD estimates.
Although the fire has stayed 20 miles northeast of
campus, USC students with homes and families in the
evacuation areas are concerned about the potential
effects of the fires.
Nicolas Moura, a junior majoring in trombone per-formance,
said his family has loaded cars in case of
evacuation. From his home in the mountains of La
Cañada, Moura said the sound of the firefighters bat-tling
the blaze was “like a warzone.”
“From my house we have a pretty good view of the
fires,” Moura said. “I’ve never experienced fires this
bad.”
Moura first heard about the fire when he was go-ing
home to celebrate his parents’ 30th wedding
anniversary.
Fires threaten
Los Angeles
communities
Los Angeles Fire Department says Station fire
will be contained by Sept. 8 at the earliest.
| see fire, page 3 |
Percentage Change in International
Students Admitted
3%
-4%
14%
23%
7%
1%
3%
5%
-3%
14%
’04-’05
’05-’06
’06-’07
’07-’08
’08-’09
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
-5%
=
=
USC
National
Average
Year
Percentage Change
Source: USC Office of Admissions, Council of Graduate Studies
Leon Russo | Daily Trojan